


Steamy at Midnight

by Kiiratam



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/F, F/M, I'm not tagging relationships here because it's complicated, Ilia is bad at this, Implied/Referenced Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 09:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20561726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiiratam/pseuds/Kiiratam
Summary: Ilia is relaxing in the steam tent when Blake walks in.Takes place before Volume 1, shortly before the Black trailer. (My BMBLB fic index)





	Steamy at Midnight

"The last mission really beat you up."

  
Blake jumped. She must not have seen Ilia through the steam. Though it was the middle of the night. If there was a time to let your guard down, midnight in the steam tent was it.

  
Having gathered herself, Blake said, "Yeah. It was rough."

  
Evidently. Ilia wondered how long Blake's Aura had been down, what risks she had taken, to pick up all those bruises. She should have kept back, let Adam and Wilt absorb hits. But Blake was always eager for the fight. Moreso, lately. She'd been fighting like she didn't care if she lived or died.

  
Ilia didn't like it. The cause was important, but without elite fighters, they wouldn't be able to raid SDC outposts and shipments, kidnap officials, anything. They'd be left with nothing but general revolt -which they couldn't win - and peaceful demonstrations, which didn't work. High Leader Khan had proved how effective her methods were, but without people like Blake, they were useless.

  
And Ilia didn't want to lose Blake. Not that she really _had_ Blake. Holding her towel on, she slid over on the bench, and patted the space next to her. "Want to sit over here?"

Blake came and sat. Slowly, easing herself down. Holding onto her towel with one hand, and not looking at Ilia.

  
Shaking her head, Ilia said, "What a mess."

  
"Yeah."

  
"Just our luck, attacking when there was an inspection team on site. With extra security. Who missed that?"

  
"Adam saw the extra vehicles. He thought it might be someone important, so he thought it was worth the risk."

  
Ilia bit off a harsh response. She'd learned that it didn't do any good to criticize Adam to Blake's face. She knew Adam was just trying to do what was best for the cause, trying to set up a big win that they could parley into more. Their tactics were making progress for Faunus everywhere, but it was slow work. And if they took a few weeks off, to rest and recuperate, then the humans thought that the White Fang had vanished, and started thinking they could abuse Faunus again. Idiots.

  
But why did Blake have to suffer for it? Adam had guessed wrong, and all they'd gotten was a long, vicious fight, a bunch of dead, crippled and running SDC goons, and barely enough Dust to cover their expenditures. At least they'd gotten some slow-burn red, to keep the steam tent going. It wasn't good for much else. It wasn't like they needed to heat their tents in the forest of Forever Fall.

  
Technically, Ilia shouldn't have been in the steam tent by herself. Too much waste. She ladled more water over the hot rocks, sending steam billowing off in clouds. But if anyone else was up this late, Blake was here now, so Ilia wouldn't get into trouble for violating rationing.

  
Really, Ilia had just wanted to feel warm again. It wasn't exactly cold, from everyone else's perspective. And it certainly wasn't cold compared to Mantle. But Ilia had wanted to be actually warm, not just 'not cold.' And she'd taken a few hits herself during the fight, even if her Aura had held. She just wanted to relax a bit. And then Blake had walked in, interrupting Ilia's relaxations. Not that she hadn't already been in Ilia's thoughts.

  
She looked over at Blake. Some of those bruises were in the shape of handprints. No wonder Adam had been in a fury afterwards. Some SDC bastard must have grabbed Blake after her Aura failed. Probably held her at gunpoint, trying to get Adam to surrender. Between that, and his plan not working out...

  
"What are we doing, Ilia?" Blake asked quietly, staring into the steam.

  
"We won." Ilia waved an arm around the tent. "And now we're basking in our victory."

  
"Some victory."

  
Ilia turned to her friend, laid a hand gently on her shoulder, trying to avoid the bruises. "You can't give up, Blake. We _did_ win. We're still here."

  
Blake opened her mouth to respond. Closed it without saying anything. Turned away, shrugging off Ilia's hand.

  
Every time. Every time she tried to help, Blake just turned away from her. What was wrong? She didn't used to be like this.

  
They'd talked less since they stopped sharing a tent. That was to be expected. And Ilia had made the mistake of saying some things about Adam that she regretted. She really should have known better, with Adam and Blake sharing a tent now. She _really_ should have known better, since Blake had ranted to her about Kali insulting Adam.

  
But Ilia had apologized! It had been years. She'd even stopped criticizing Adam to others. Tried to see him like Blake did; tried to protect his reputation like she did. Even if she desperately wanted what he had. The cause was too important to be brought down by in-fighting.

  
If there was any topic that could get Blake talking again, it was him. "How's Adam?"

  
"Upset." Good, she was talking again. "Really upset."

  
"We'll find something else to hit."

  
"I know."

  
Ilia hated it when Blake went silent on her. But these terse responses weren't much better. "Has he done anything special for you lately?"

  
Blake took a deep breath. Held it. Let it out. "No. He's just been so busy. I've been doing stuff for him."

  
"Oh." They didn't really talk about that. Blake had talked about it years ago, after their first time, and it had just made Ilia vaguely nauseous. She had never done anything with a guy, and after Blake's descriptions, she really didn't want to. Blake seemed like she enjoyed it, had certainly been enthusiastic about it. And Ilia had read a bit from one of Blake's books, where the main couple did the same thing. It just... wasn't attractive to her.

  
Even picturing Blake and Adam together was turn off. And even if she didn't always agree with Adam, she did respect him. And Blake by herself was absolutely not a turn off. Just having her here, in just a towel...

  
Ilia stretched, tried not to think about it too much. She'd made overtures to Blake before. They'd even kissed once or twice, in the guise of 'practice.' Practice for kissing Adam, for Blake. Practice for kissing Blake, for Ilia. Since then, though, nothing. Just teasing phantoms in Ilia's mind.

  
"Bruises feel any better?" Ilia ladled more water over the hot rocks.

  
Blake nodded. "The steam helps, thanks."

  
Ilia thought she saw a ghost of a smile on Blake's face. At least she'd managed to help a little bit. If that was all she could do for Blake, all Blake would accept, Ilia would do it gladly. Always ready to do more, but willing to just play her part for now.

  
And really, being alone with Blake in the steam tent, late at night? It made the whole day worth it, failed operation and all.


End file.
